Kelly Dever is the former Canton Police Department dispatcher and former Boston police officer whose role in the Karen Read case turned on a single reversal: after telling FBI agents in 2023 that she had seen two officials spend a “wildly long time” alone with Read’s impounded SUV, she took the witness stand at Read’s 2025 retrial and called that account a “false memory.” The recantation drew a Brady-list demand from Read’s defense, prompted a leave of absence, and ended with her resignation from the Boston Police Department effective September 1, 2025.
Who Kelly Dever Is
Dever was working as a dispatcher at the Canton Police Department in January 2022, when Boston police officer John O’Keefe was found dead on the snow-covered lawn of a fellow officer’s home in Canton. She later joined the Boston Police Department as a sworn officer. Her connection to the Read prosecution runs through both jobs: she was inside the Canton station in the hours around O’Keefe’s death, and she was a Boston officer when federal agents came asking what she had seen.
What She Told the FBI in 2023
In August 2023, FBI agents interviewed Dever as part of a federal investigation into how the Read case was handled. She told them that on the morning of January 29, 2022, while on duty as a dispatcher, she watched ATF agent Brian Higgins and then-Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz enter the department’s sally port garage. The two men, she said, spent a “wildly long time” alone with Karen Read’s impounded SUV, which she described as “weird.”1NBC Boston. Karen Read Attorney Wants Officer Kelly Dever Added to Brady List
That account mattered to Read’s defense. Attorney Alan Jackson’s theory was that O’Keefe had been beaten inside the Albert home and that law enforcement had framed Read, including by planting fragments of her SUV’s taillight. Unsupervised time with the vehicle, by officials with ties to the case, fit that theory directly. The defense subpoenaed Dever to testify at the retrial.
The Recantation on the Stand
Dever took the stand on June 2, 2025. Rather than repeat the sally port account, she disavowed it. When Jackson asked why she was in the courtroom, she answered: “I am put on the stand in a murder trial. I have no idea why I’m here. I have no connection to this case.”2CBS News Boston. Karen Read Trial Live Day 25
She told the jury her 2023 statements were a “false memory.” Her explanation: she had later realized that Read’s SUV did not arrive at the garage until roughly 90 minutes after her shift ended, and she attributed the original account to confusion caused by heavy media coverage of the case.3Boston 25 News. Boston’s Top Cop Questioned About Karen Read Officer “It was a distorted memory,” she said. “Therefore I can’t state it, because at this point it would be a lie.”4Boston.com. Karen Read Case Boston Police Officer Kelly Dever Resigns
She went further. She accused members of Read’s legal team of pressuring her to stand by the original story. “The one word I can very definitely remember is they said they would charge me with perjury. I contacted the FBI regarding it.”2CBS News Boston. Karen Read Trial Live Day 25 Jackson denied the allegation. Dever defended the reversal in plain terms: “My entire job revolves around what I say on the witness stand right now. If I was to lie, I lose my job. I lose everything. I’m here to tell the truth.”5NBC Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 25 Live Stream Updates Read herself criticized the testimony afterward, suggesting Dever had been “coaxed” into changing her account.
The Brady List Demand
In July 2025, Jackson sent a formal letter to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox demanding that Dever be added to the department’s Brady list. Under Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States, prosecutors must disclose evidence that impeaches the credibility of a government witness. Officers on a Brady list carry documented credibility issues that must be disclosed in any case where they might testify.1NBC Boston. Karen Read Attorney Wants Officer Kelly Dever Added to Brady List
Jackson framed Dever’s position as a trap of her own making. “If she lied under oath, Officer Dever is guilty of perjury. If she truly suffers from false memories, she is unfit to serve as a police officer.” He wrote that her “credibility and reliability as a law enforcement officer are irreparably compromised,” and he warned that any case she had touched would need review, with potential dismissals if her situation went undisclosed.6NBC Boston. Dever Brady Letter The Boston Police Department did not publicly respond to the request.
The Commissioner Cox Angle
Dever’s testimony pulled in Commissioner Cox because she confirmed on the stand that she had spoken with him before testifying. By her account, Cox told her he supported her and instructed her to tell the truth.1NBC Boston. Karen Read Attorney Wants Officer Kelly Dever Added to Brady List The defense implied that conversation was pressure to change her account.
Cox denied knowing about her role. “I didn’t know she was even associated with that case. I was struck like, ‘What do I have to do with the Karen Read case? I’ve never said those words together.'”7WCVB. Boston Police Commissioner Karen Read Case
In October 2025, Jackson wrote to Mayor Michelle Wu and the Massachusetts POST Commission alleging that on February 22, 2024, the FBI’s Boston Field Office had emailed Cox about the Read investigation and Dever by name. According to Jackson, the message from Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephen Kelleher read: “Just a reminder, the documents were released to the DA’s office late last night. The officer we spoke about is Kelly Dever.” Jackson said Cox’s official calendar showed a meeting with Dever the next day.7WCVB. Boston Police Commissioner Karen Read Case
Jackson asked the POST Commission to open a disciplinary review of Cox and add him to the Brady list. The commission declined. Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said Cox is a “non-sworn civilian executive” not subject to the same regulatory provisions as sworn officers.8NBC Boston. Karen Read Boston Police Michael Cox
Leave and Resignation
After her June 2025 testimony, Dever went on leave from the Boston Police Department. A department spokesperson characterized the absence as being “over family,” and CBS News Boston reported she was on family medical leave.9CBS News Boston. Officer Kelly Dever Resigns Boston Police Karen Read The department did not say whether the leave was connected to the Read case or whether it was voluntary.
Her resignation took effect September 1, 2025. The department released a personnel order on September 12, 2025, confirming the departure without further detail.4Boston.com. Karen Read Case Boston Police Officer Kelly Dever Resigns No formal perjury investigation or criminal charges against Dever have been publicly reported. After the resignation was announced, Jackson said: “Ms. Dever’s departure from the BPD is a reminder that those who betray the public trust cannot remain its guardians.”10Boston Herald. Howie Carr Farewell Kelly False Memory Dever